


Criminal

by Talliya



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: 2X5 - Freeform, 2x5x2, 5x2 - Freeform, Duo!Thief, M/M, Preventer!Chang, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2018-03-15
Packaged: 2019-02-01 13:06:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12705597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talliya/pseuds/Talliya
Summary: This Cop/Criminal love affair was written in the stars.





	1. Package Pick-up!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnaraneSindanarie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaraneSindanarie/gifts).



> I do not own any rights to Gundam Wing or its characters. This work is not for profit.
> 
> Yes the summary is lame, I may eventually change it... I just couldn't think of anything so I went with 'sappy'.
> 
> One Line Prompts #10 “Stop copying me.” Duo and WuFei ‘Criminal’ from Rane.  
> It was supposed to be light and funny... and now it isn't. It seriously hurts me. Hope you're happy Rane!

WuFei had had one hell of a week. His mission to L2 had been particularly annoying. He had gone in order to taxi some high priority criminals from L2 to Earth for their Preventers hearings and better confinement. However, when he had arrived it had been to find that all three of them had broken loose from the minimalist Preventers ‘stronghold’ and he had spent the week corralling them again. A trip that should have only taken the time to fly in, dock, acquire criminals, and go back to Earth... had taken an entire week longer. It didn’t make anything any better that one of the criminals was fuckably gorgeous and a gigantic flirt.

“Hey, cop dude.” That sexy voice filtered up from where he was chained down to a seat in the back of the shuttle. The man was separated from the other two criminals who were simply handcuffed to their chairs a row apart from each other on the opposite side of the shuttle.

WuFei was lucky he wasn’t allowed to fly transport shuttles anymore, he probably would have jerked the yoke from the shivers that voice sent down his spine. As it was Une was convinced he would set them to autopilot and aim them at the sun. He wasn’t sure why she thought that about him. He’d only ever tried it once, and the man had deserved it. Had in fact gotten the death sentence which was carried out only a week after it had been given.

“I’m not actually a cop you know.” WuFei growled at him, annoyed that the man was speaking, yet again, when he’d been told to keep quiet.

WuFei’s sharp gaze caught the roll the man’s violet eyes made before he spoke again, “You spend yer time catching ‘bad guys’ don’ you?”

WuFei wasn’t sure where this was going but rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh, “Yes.”

“Then yer basically a cop. Just because yer from the SuperCop factory and fuckin’ hott doesn’t make you any less a cop.”

WuFei closed his eyes, fought back a blush, and repeated to himself, /I am a professional, I am a professional, I will not murder or fuck this man./ until he felt he was in control of himself again. “What do you want Maxwell?”

A slow smile slipped onto the man’s beautifully heart-shaped face. WuFei didn’t trust it for a second. “Think you could come over ‘ere for a moment?”

“Why would I need to do that?”

“Well... unless I’m supposed to piss in my seat?” The very suggestion had WuFei out of his chair and moving down the aisle slowly. He knew the man should already be used to the schedule: each prisoner was given a specific time during the journey where WuFei would gather up his team and they would take the criminal to the restroom. None of them should have to go again until they made it Earth-side.

He automatically checked the other criminals as he passed them. The woman in the first row seemed to be asleep, the man in the second was glaring out the window. Then there was Maxwell, literal chains wrapped around his black tank top covered torso and beat up black jeans, tying him to the chair in which he sat. His arms and legs spread wide with his wrists and ankles chained in place on nearby seats. It was the only way they were able to keep the man in his seat; he was uncommonly good with locks.

WuFei’s eyes narrowed as the smile turned into a grin as he moved closer, “What, can’t hold it for another hour or so?”

“Maybe I can and maybe I can’t. Honestly I just like making you touch me.” Those violet eyes twinkled and the grin became more of a smirk.

The blush WuFei had fought off previously bloomed as he came to stand at the end of Maxwell’s aisle and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m pretty certain I never have.”

He wouldn’t allow himself to touch someone who was so obviously tempting. He’d made the other three members of his team deal with him in the restroom. Their setup was slightly invasive, but it was also procedure for such high priority prisoners. Two people outside the bathroom door, and one person inside with the prisoner, preferably a person of the same identifying gender as the prisoner. So he had two women and one other man on his team. The other guy had been having to deal with Duo inside the restroom, but Duo hadn’t flirted with him at all so it wasn’t a problem. His team knew he wasn’t dealing with Duo because the sable haired devil insisted on flirting with him. But currently his team was getting some much needed rest before they would have to be super alert when disembarking the shuttle and transferring their prisoners to the cars that would take them to Preventers HQ for detainment.

“Oh, you’ve touched me before Agent Chang.” The words were whispered and WuFei barely heard them, so he knew his sleeping agents in the front of the shuttle and the other two criminals across the space hadn’t. He quirked a brow at the man and got a small genuine smile from him, “You have saved my life before you know.”

Oh, he knew alright, he had been honestly surprised to learn that it was one Duo Maxwell, Thief, who had broken the other two fools out of their imprisonment. But even more surprised that Maxwell had been one of the high priority prisoners he was sent after to begin with. All he’d ever done before was petty theft, nothing that would have gotten him more than a few hours community service or a few days of jail time. Recalling the incident that Duo was referring to he had to mentally slap his mind away from remembering how silky his hair was, how good the press of his body against his own had felt, and how good he smelled.

His team didn’t know he had a history with Maxwell and he was going to keep it that way. He narrowed his eyes again, “What do you want, Maxwell?”

“I told you. I need to piss.”

WuFei glared down at him, but it seemed the man was serious. With a sigh he came down the aisle and stood in front of him, “No funny business.”

Maxwell gave a nod and sat quietly as WuFei unchained him; feet, arms - handcuffing his wrists together in front of him, and then the chains pinning him to the chair. He levered the criminal up and they walked to the back of the shuttle where the bathroom was. Once they were both inside Duo took a piss and washed his hands, but then didn’t move to leave the room.

“What are you doing Maxwell?” WuFei sounded rather impatient, but it was all Duo’s fault, making him come in here where he had to force himself not to look but couldn’t stop his mind from throwing out possibilities.

WuFei looked over at him just in time to see the evil smirk before Duo’s lips pressed into his own. The surprise didn’t stop him from giving a low moan and kissing the man back. Those soft lips he’d had dreams about for years now but never tasted, his fingers diving into the thick silky hair he remembered so well, drowning in the smell of him. The small whine from the back of Duo’s throat had him coming back to reality however. He pulled away slowly, sure that the pleasantly surprised and not nearly sated look on Duo’s face mirrored his own.

“Damn, yer sexy.” Duo’s voice was a low needy growl that sent WuFei’s libido into the stratosphere. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first time I saw you eight years ago.”

WuFei whined - the stone-cold, no-nonsense, Dragon of the Preventers, whined - and took that delicious mouth for another kiss, this time licking at those beautiful lips to ask for entrance. Duo opened to him like a flower to the sun, his fingers fisting into WuFei’s shirt and pressing so close that the cuffs dug into both of their stomachs. A shudder rocked through him at the taste and he knew he was doomed. Nothing had ever tasted so good.

He broke the kiss to find violet eyes darkened with lust and staring at him blindly. He wanted to tell Duo that he felt the same, that he’d allowed him to get free before because he couldn’t stand the thought of him locked up. Tying the man to his bed was an entirely different matter however. The words just wouldn’t form on his lips, so instead he tilted his head back and drank from the taller man again. With a quick flutter at their stomachs Duo’s hands were free of the cuffs and diving into his hair, WuFei had to smother a loud groan at the pleasant feeling. Duo slowly backed him into the wall, being sure not to bump against the door as it jiggled when touched, and he obviously didn’t want to be interrupted.

WuFei had no complaints. He stifled another moan as in one smooth motion Duo pulled the tie from his hair and hoisted him up so he could wrap his legs around that lithe waist. It brought their rather hard and far too clothed penises into contact causing them to smother their moans in each other’s mouths.

Unsure how he lost his sidearm - or his shirt - WuFei looked up at Duo with a flushed and bemused expression, “You appear to be wearing too much Maxwell.”

He watched as violet eyes closed and a shudder went through the lean form he was wrapped around, “Damn, I want you inside me so bad.” Eyes opened and the hungry look Duo raked over him set WuFei on fire. “But I want to taste you first.”

It was WuFei’s turn to shudder as the words were whispered into his ear, hot moist air sending goosebumps across his skin before that beautiful mouth latched onto his neck. Impatient to finally have what he’d wanted for so long WuFei unwound his arms from Duo’s neck and set to work on getting the man’s tank top off of him and his jeans undone. The sudden bite to his shoulder let him know how Duo felt when his warm hands finally found that wonderful erection, slowly pulling it out of the restrictive denim that was apparently it’s only covering. Duo thrust into his palm, seemingly involuntarily, and a needy whine left his nose near WuFei’s ear. For his part WuFei smirked and took the hint, wrapping his fingers firmly around the turgid flesh and slowly pumping up and down. The feel of skin sliding smoothly beneath his palm was a bigger turn on than he’d imagined and he had to bury his face into Duo’s neck to smother the sound he made.

He felt Duo’s skin stretch and assumed he was grinning at the whine he made, heard the stifled the groan that came from the throat beneath his lips. Duo set WuFei back on the floor and sank to his knees forcing those diligent fingers to leave his cock. He got WuFei’s pants down around his ankles before toying with the larger-than-he’d-thought-it’d-be erection, mapping out every crease and learning how it felt sliding against his skin. Nearly turning WuFei to goo.

“Du-o.” The word sounded like a broken prayer and WuFei was almost embarrassed that it had come out of him. The feel of a warm tongue gliding up the underside of his cock however, kept him from such silly thoughts as being embarrassed. When wet warmth swirled around the tip of his penis his knees nearly buckled, and only Duo’s hand on his thigh kept him upright. WuFei’s hands slapped against his mouth as Duo took him into his mouth and began sucking oh so slowly, bobbing his head back and forth over his length. WuFei had never felt something so incredible in his entire life!

“Nngh, Duo, I’m gonna...” WuFei was panting but desperate to get the words out.

Duo slurped his way off of him and looked up through his bangs with a wicked smile and needy violet eyes, “I told you I wanted to taste you WuFei.”

Black eyes fell closed and a shudder went through him as Duo’s mouth returned to its mission - he was officially in love with the way this man said his name. It didn’t take long before he was pulsing into Duo’s mouth while the man drank him greedily down like his dick was some kind of straw. It felt fucking amazing!

Both men wanted desperately to take their time with this, but they only had about an hour left before his team woke up and they knew they needed to be back in their seats like nothing had happened before then. Frankly, if they took much longer than just a few minutes WuFei was sure the other convict who was angrily glaring out the window would grow suspicious and start making accusations and trying to negotiate his way into some kind of deal for his own trial. WuFei didn’t want that at all. The mass murderer and his wife had taken a long-ass time for authorities to track down, he wasn’t going to let them slide on anything for any reason. So if Duo really wanted him, it had to be now.

“Duo, now.” WuFei took command of the situation and pulled Duo to his feet and flush against him. The moment their dicks met flesh to warm throbbing flesh was pure bliss. WuFei sucked in a deep attempting-to-calm-down-some breath before raising his head to find violet eyes begging him. He shoved the taller man into position: hands braced against the wall over the toilet, legs spread deliciously to either side of the seat. He rummaged in a locked cupboard above the sink for the lotion he knew was there, after using his key to unlock it. The fact that it was called ‘Silicone Glove’ amused him immensely, but lotion was better than nothing. He slicked his fingers in the stuff before running them down the channel created by Duo’s ass-cheeks. He felt Duo’s breathing stop and watched the pulse in his neck speed up.

He could hear Duo grind his teeth in order to stay quiet and moved until his chest was flush with Duo’s back so that he could reach that wonderful mouth with his hand. “Use this, however you want.”

Duo’s shiver transferred to him as the man took his fingers into his mouth and began sucking on them hungrily. His dick twitched against Duo’s thigh and he wasted no more time before slowly sliding a digit into the man. He didn’t rush stretching him and only belatedly realized that he didn’t have a condom to use. Seeming to sense WuFei’s sudden indecision Duo came off his fingers with a wet slurping sound that made WuFei’s stomach flip flop pleasantly and turned his head to look at him. “Now WuFei.”

The words melted any argument he could have made and he slathered lotion onto his cock before lining it up with Duo’s very tempting opening. He pushed in slowly, savoring the feel of Duo’s muscles clamping around him and allowing said muscles to adjust to him.

“Fuck, so good.”

The barely breathed words speared straight into WuFei’s heart. He really wished they were doing this in better circumstances. He began slowly rocking in and almost out of Duo, relishing the muffled cries the thief gave. It wasn’t long before he felt the tell-tale signs that his orgasm was pending. “Duo, I’m...”

“Yes, yes WuFei. Cum inside me. God you have no idea how badly I need you.” Duo’s voice was strained with want and the need to keep quiet.

WuFei shuddered and moved his free hand to wrap his fingers around Duo’s weeping length, he wasn’t about to go alone. He plunged himself deep into Duo fast and hard several times before cumming, his face buried in Duo’s neck in an attempt to keep himself quiet. He felt sudden warmth coat his fingers and new that Duo had cum as well. The thought made him smile.

When he could finally focus again WuFei pulled out slowly and couldn’t help the smirk at the shaky mess Duo appeared to be. He maneuvered the man so that he was sitting on the toilet and proceeded to clean the both of them up, using his mouth to clean off Duo’s cock, much to both of their enjoyment.

They spent a minute or so after they were clothed and had their hair presentable to simply calm down before leaving the bathroom. A quick hard kiss before opening the door was all they allowed themselves as a probably good-bye. WuFei marched him back to his seat exactly as he’d marched him to the bathroom - like touching him would garner him some kind of disease. He latched the thief back into his chair and then walked back to his own and sat down. For his part, Duo went quietly to his seat and then appeared to fall asleep for the last few hours of their flight. Only WuFei noticed the slight smile on his face.

As they entered Earth’s atmosphere and began getting the felons ready to disembark WuFei was really glad that his team had gotten sleep and that they’d already made it so that he wouldn’t have to interact with Duo during the process. It was even harder now not to simply stare at him, and all he really wanted to do was kiss him again.

After the car ride from the station to headquarters, a ride in which buddies of the man and woman tried their best to break the two of them out but simply got themselves caught instead, WuFei sat at his desk attempting to write up his report. But his mind kept wandering back to Duo and wondering why he had been there at all. It just didn’t make sense for a petty thief to be in cahoots with murderers.


	2. Fired

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which WuFei loses his job.

Transferring the prisoners from the shuttle to cars, and from the cars to HQ was a quiet affair, all things said and done. There was a rocket launched at them from a blind alley, the backup team in the escort cars made quick work of the culprits, calling in another car to take the newest prisoners in. WuFei had figured the convoy would be hit on Earth when the transfers were being made. This particular murderous couple had escaped law enforcement many times due to such things not being taken into account. So WuFei may have _over planned_ for it. But apparently that had been a good thing as a block away from HQ their convoy had be ‘jumped’ by another gang out to free the two murderers. They were also subsequently caught.

So, while WuFei had really just gone to L2 to retrieve two murderers and a thief he didn’t know why was there, he ended up capturing an entire ring of murderers and drug lords. It was a little known fact - even among law enforcement agencies - that Lillith Jones and Kent Fridays were married. Both were wanted separately for various murders. WuFei had made it his goal the last eight years to catch them both. His search into their histories and various murders is what lead the two of them to hide out on L2 in the first place. It was the one place they thought Agent Chang couldn’t reach. They were wrong. Their first murders had been on L2, had apparently been where the two of them met, and where Missus Jones worked as a school teacher and Mister Fridays was the CEO of a rather large corporation that manufactured computer parts.

Their covers were deeply placed, they’d both grown up on L2, and not many people there knew that they were married either. It was a connection that WuFei had found by blindly looking for leads as to why they had murdered the people they had. Coming across their Marriage License was a happy accident. It had made catching them on L2 much easier, none of their gang contacts were there after all, as it was where they went to get away from all of that.

WuFei had also been unsurprised that the two attempts to break the couple out had not included people trying to get Duo out. No one else seemed to notice, but it made WuFei even more confused as to how they L2 Preventers branch thought Duo had anything to do with the two of them.

Finally reaching HQ Fridays was escorted inside first by the other man and one of the women from his team along with those who poured from the building itself to meet them. Once WuFei got the all clear that he was in a cell and guarded he himself and his other team member took in Jones. He knew it was safe to leave Duo there with just the guard from inside the building. The thief wasn’t going to go anywhere, not when WuFei was close at hand and he had no real way to get back to L2 which was the only place he knew.

He wasn’t wrong about him either, WuFei came back out by himself, having told those who’d gone with him to file their reports and head home. They wouldn’t be needed again until sentencing time to give their versions of what they knew, provided no one had any questions over their written reports. Maxwell was still sitting there, calm and patient as could be. Apparently he hadn’t made a peep or tried to move at all.

WuFei ducked his head inside the car and looked him over, he seemed fine. “Come on Maxwell, let’s go.”

Duo smirked over at him and winked, “Anything you want Agent Chang.”

WuFei closed his eyes on his eye roll and groaned as he moved back and waited for Maxwell to exit the car. He didn’t miss the quickly banished smiles from his co-workers. They all knew that he got hit on by most vagrants, didn’t matter their gender. Even the animals in some cases seemed like they were coming onto Agent Chang, they all knew better than to say anything about it with him in hearing distance however. He’d made several seasoned officers cry once for ribbing him about it.

He escorted Maxwell into the building and to his cell, thankfully in another cell block from the two known murderers. As they weren’t sure why the L2 branch had seen fit to lock up Maxwell in the first place, they weren’t going to put him in with the other murderers, as far as they knew, he was simply a thief... and a damned good escape artist.

His chores done for the day WuFei headed for his desk to write up his own report, debating with himself if he should put what had happened in the shuttle down or not. If it were someone else’s report, he would make them. With a sigh, he wrote down that he had in fact had sex with one Duo Maxwell while in transit. However, against his usual style, he neither emailed his report to Une nor printed it out to hand it to her. He saved it to a thumb drive, deleting completely from his computer, and took the thumb drive to Une instead. He wasn’t about to risk everyone knowing what he’d done before he was, as would be the case, let go from Preventers.  
\---  
Duo was brought to Sally for a physical examination, the same as the other two criminals, Sally always got to deal with the high priority cases herself. She’d heard a lot about one Duo Maxwell over the last eight years and honestly WuFei hadn’t been exaggerating on how gorgeous the man was.

She could tell that Duo was skittish about medical personnel to begin with and rather disliked that she was a woman to boot. She smiled evilly at him, “Don’t worry Mr. Maxwell I’m not going to sexually assault you. Though one of the tests I have to run is to find out if someone else has.”

Duo’s head snapped up to look at her in shock, she thought it was because he was shocked by the thought of the test. Turned out that wasn’t why at all. The fact that she swabbed cum out of his ass was a rather big indicator that he’d had sex recently... very recently. She cleared her throat, really hoping she was wrong, but she had to ask. “Mr. Maxwell, did you have sex while in transport?”

Duo hung his head and bit his lip, “Yes.”

Sally closed her eyes, “With?”

He fidgeted around a bit before whispering, “WuFei.”

WuFei was it? Not Agent Chang? Sally knew that WuFei hadn’t ever told the thief his name before, so something must have changed. Plus, Duo was saying it like he was afraid to, that he knew it wouldn’t go well for WuFei and that saddened him. “Damn.”

Duo’s head jerked up again, she could tell that he noted how she herself was sad about it. Sally gave him a quick grin, “Don’t worry. It won’t be anything against you, and certainly won’t go into the report for this case. It will be a different matter entirely.”

Duo bit his lip, looked down at the floor, then rose defiant eyes back up to meet her own. “Will he get fired for it? I mean, it’s not like the Perfect Agent Chang has ever done something like this before.”

Sally shook her head, a sad smile gracing her face. “He will be fired for it, once the news is confirmed by Commander Une. But that will be all that happens. He’ll lose his job, but not his prestige gained through it. He’ll be able to work in law enforcement if he wants, just not for Preventers anymore. We have very strict policies, and WuFei does his best to uphold them. So, for his sake, I hope you get let go.”

His expression showed his shock at that last bit, but he nodded in understanding, it seemed he knew WuFei rather well even though they’d never really talked before. And probably still hadn’t. Damn, she was going to have to have a word with WuFei before he left the building for the night.  
\---  
Sally caught him as he was headed to his car, finally going home to sleep in an actual bed. She told him about the tests, and how Duo had confessed that it was him. She’d even tested it to make sure, running it against his DNA on file. She assured him that it wouldn’t have anything to do with the murders’ case, and he explained that he had put it into his report. Has he would expect it of anyone else. Sally had shaken her head at him, a soft smile on her face, and walked away.

WuFei however, had headed back inside the building and down to Duo’s cell, he stood outside the steel cage the man was in while he waited for processing and glared at him, “I can’t believe you told Sally that.”

“It made it so I got to see you again. I’m not going to apologize. Besides, it’s not like I lied.” Violet eyes sparkled up at him from the bench seat the man was handcuffed too.

“You ass.” WuFei leaned down, reached through the bars and brought Duo’s face to his own, “I’m gonna get fired because of you.” He pressed his lips to Duo’s to steal one last kiss, thankful that the processing guards weren't looking.

When WuFei backed away Duo’s eyes were sad, he knew the other man hadn’t wanted him to lose the job he seemed to love so much, but he couldn’t lie to the doctor when asked. “It’s alright Duo, I’ll see you on the other side.”  
\----  
It was a few days later that his verdict was meted out, just long enough for him to think, to hope, that he wouldn’t be fired for his indiscretion.

“Agent Chang, a word if you please.” Une’s voice sounded rather disappointed. Wary and slightly confused WuFei followed her into her office. He had been working day and night trying to figure out how and why Duo had gotten involved with this case to begin with.

“Yes Commander?”

“Did you have sex with the criminal Duo Maxwell on the transport shuttle?”

He froze for a split second and then firmed his resolve, he wouldn’t lie. “Yes, I wrote that in my report.”

“You know what that means do you not?”

He hung his head, “Yes Commander, I do.”

She shook her head she hated losing agents. “Hand me your badge and issued sidearm. As of this moment you are under investigation for the sexual abuse of a detainee.”

WuFei closed his eyes and took a deep breath before doing as asked. He left the building in a daze, glad that he had in fact found out how Maxwell was involved, he had just sent Une his report on it before she called him into her office. He got the distinct impression that she had been waiting for him to find out how a simple ex-thief was involved before she pulled him from the case. As it turned out, Duo had already been in the cell, they only had the one, so when Duo had broken himself out, Fridays and Jones had simply followed him. The L2 branch had thought that maybe they placed him there, had him get caught first so that they would have an escape. Cross examining all three criminals however, found this not to be the case. WuFei was glad that Une had let him find out that Duo had nothing to do with it. It made losing his job, not quite so bad.


	3. Freed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WuFei reminisces about the last several years.

It was odd not heading to work every morning. He had been working for the Preventers for ten years, as soon as he had graduated high school he had gone straight into the Preventers’ training program. He’d become one of the best agents the company had ever had in his first four years. It was a large part of why Une had allowed him to continue looking into the Fridays’ and Jones’ murder cases. He attacked it like a dog on a mission, so she had let him. The last eight years of his life had been spent pouring over reports, close calls with almost catching one or the other of them, and helping with other cases to get a break.

He had met Duo Maxwell the first time he had ever been to L2, before he had tackled the cases of Jones and Fridays, he had gone to the Preventers branch on L2 to help sort out a recent spike in drug trafficking. The local cops were sure that a certain Maxwell kid was behind it all. As it had turned out, Duo had nothing to do with the drugs themselves, but he was a person of interest in the case. He had stolen a painting, that once WuFei had convinced him to give it up, had been tested and proven to have been created from various illegal drugs.

It was how they were being smuggled into L2 from a rather prominent person on Earth. When the Preventers, led by WuFei, had cornered Treize Khushrenada about how ALL of the paintings he had recently sold to an art studio on L2 were made of various illegal drugs, Treize had told them he had no idea. That he had had the paintings commissioned for the art studio as a way of getting them recognition and ‘off the ground’ so to speak. WuFei was still bitter over the whole ordeal because he just _knew_ that Treize knew they were made with drugs. He could just never **prove** it.

With a sigh he rolled out of bed, showered, dressed, and headed down to the small diner on the corner. He ordered his usual weekend breakfast, even though it was Wednesday, and set about filling his stomach. Then he made his way to the park a few blocks away. He sat on a park bench, pulled the papers declaring him no longer a Preventer from his long coat and stared at the pages with a blank expression.

What was he supposed to do now? How was he supposed to know that Duo was okay? He was furious with himself that he couldn’t be there to protect him this time. Eight years ago he had found the so-called supplier of the drugs on L2 rather easily, Duo Maxwell was well known. It always made him wonder why the local cops had been so insistent that Duo was the man he was after, when anyone else on L2 would have said otherwise. Sure Duo was a petty thief, but drugs just weren’t his thing. Not when they had been a huge part of why he grew up the way he did, orphaned by druggie parents who couldn’t deal with him, so they had given him to the Maxwell Church.

He smiled halfheartedly, he had learned a LOT about Duo in that first year after seeing him. He’d been a man possessed. He couldn’t believe that such a beautiful man, both physically and otherwise, could become a thief. But, the man’s past had lead credence to the lifestyle. WuFei doubted that Duo _needed_ to steal anymore, by the time he’d met him those many years ago he had been doing rather well. Was in fact a rather good and well known artist himself. He had apparently stolen the painting just to see if he still had the skills to do so. And he had, no one knew when or how it had been taken, it had simply suddenly been missing. WuFei doubted anyone would have noticed it missing if it hadn’t been so important to the people dealing drugs in the area.

Duo’s home had been bugged shortly after WuFei found him and got him to hand over the painting. And not bugged by the ‘good guys’. Apparently the cartel had wanted to know how much Duo knew, if he’d stolen that particular painting for a reason. When they learned he had simply taken it because it was pretty they’d slipped up. They bombed Duo’s apartment. But Duo was used to bombs, used to people stealing, used to people backstabbing him. He’d grown up that way after all, he’d grown up on the streets after the Maxwell Church he had called home his whole life was bombed. He had walked through his door and **known** something was wrong. He had been planning on showing WuFei one of his newest paintings, something he’d said was inspired by a certain ‘cop’ he knew.

WuFei had never seen the painting, Duo had backed out of the door and shoved him back down the hallway shouting all the way that there was a bomb. Because of this, no one else in the apartment building was hurt by it. And the culprits were caught. They hadn’t expected Duo to be so knowledgeable about bombs and their making. He was able to ID the ignition source and from there they had quickly found the man commissioned to make the bomb. He was more than willing to give up the names and faces of the people who had hired him, especially after he was told the bomb had been set to kill Duo Maxwell.

A day or so later, as WuFei was getting ready to leave L2, he had gone to see Duo at a park, to thank him for his help with the case. They’d been shot at. WuFei had heard the car engine and instinctively thrown himself at Duo, they fallen to the gravel path and the gun shots had ripped into them. The only reason either of them were alive was because WuFei never went anywhere without wearing kevlar. That and they were lucky none of the bullets hit any major arteries in their legs or their heads.

WuFei had been given a small taste of what it would feel like to be with Duo, to have the right to hold him against him, but then Duo had been moving away to see what the damage was. He was pretty much fine, no bullet wounds at all, just gravel embedded in his hands, so other than being rattled by the experience there was nothing really wrong with him. WuFei recalled being confused as to why Duo was so rattled by it when he knew it wasn’t the first time the man had been shot at. Now he wondered if it had been because of _him_ , because he had been hurt.

WuFei hadn’t been able to head back to Earth that day like originally planned, he’d been whisked away to the hospital where he’d stayed for nearly two weeks. They pulled bullets from his left calf, three of them he was told, one from his right butt cheek, and two from his left arm. They kept him so long mostly because of the massive blood loss and it was easier for him to give his statement to the cops when he was confined. Something that apparently Une had insisted on.

When WuFei had come to in the hospital, his first reaction was to ask after ‘Mr. Maxwell’. He had been informed the Maxwell was fine, had only had gravel in his hands from being knocked to the ground, and that he had saved his life. The shooters were caught while he was still in the hospital, but Duo never came to see him. He had never been more disappointed by something so simple in his life.

He had come back to Earth despondent, and only been awakened when a murder happened near his own home. He set out to catch the killer and eventually found out it was Mr. Fridays. And now, now both Fridays and Jones were officially off the streets for good. There was so much evidence against them there was no way they wouldn’t get the death sentence. All painstakingly gathered while he pined for an artist he couldn’t have. He actually owned several of Duo’s paintings now...

A heavy sigh left him and he focused his eyes back on the papers in his hand. He hadn’t really been ‘fired’ per se, simply forced to resign. That way he wouldn’t be hindered from joining any other branch of law enforcement if he so chose. All he’d ever wanted to be was a Preventer. And now the Dragon was retired... at twenty-eight. How lame was that? He sighed again and folded the papers back up, replacing them in his coat.

“You know, I’ve heard that if you sigh like that, you will lose ten years of happiness.” The voice had him jumping, not just because it was sudden and literally right by his ear, but also because of whose it was.

“Duo?” WuFei’s head whipped around to look at him and Duo leaned forward to kiss him.

“Hey,” He pulled away and moved around to sit on the bench next to WuFei, mimicking his pose. “Really, a hottie like you shouldn’t be sighing like that in the first place.”

WuFei blinked at him and shoved him off of the bench. The squawk he got had him grinning as he watched Duo scramble to resume his seat. “What was that for?”

“Not coming to see me in the hospital.”

“Hospital? When were you...” Duo sighed and copied WuFei’s pose again, “You’re shoving me over because of something I didn’t do eight years ago?”

“Yes, I am. Did. Whatever.” WuFei moved a leg up and rested his chin on his knee as he looked at Duo.

“That is so entirely childish. I thought you were an adult.” Duo copied his pose again, smirking at him.

WuFei rolled his eyes, “Why are you here?”

Duo rolled his eyes back, “Why are _you_ here?”

WuFei huffed, “Because you got me fired.”

Duo tried to huff in return but was obviously fighting off a grin, “Well, I won’t apologize for it. Besides, I’m a free man now. And I even got a free ride to Earth, so I was wondering if you knew of any places for rent.”

WuFei was flummoxed for a moment and spent several long minutes studying Duo’s face. “You want to live here?”

A quick grin met the response, “I’ve always wanted to live on Earth, knowing you were here made me up my game though. I almost had enough for the trip and to find a place. However, now I just need to find a place.”

WuFei blinked at him, “I... you could, um, stay with me while you look.”

He looked down and missed the sad smile on Duo’s face, “I’d like that. Thank you.”

WuFei changed his position again and Duo copied him again. With yet another sigh he turned to look at the man, “Stop copying me.”

“Kiss me then.”

WuFei snorted before pulling Duo into his lap and kissing him long and hard. “You can just ask you know.”

“Can I live with you?” Duo mumbled and bit his bottom lip.

“I think that can be arranged.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also: In which I make Treize Khushrenada an art/drug criminal who can't get caught. >_>


End file.
